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ORATIONS Demosthenes must have written down and put them into circulation most of his orations.H. Weil, ''Biography of Demosthenes'', 66 In the next generation after his death, texts of his speeches survived in at least two places: Athens and the Library Of Alexandria (early-mid third century BC). During this period, Callimachus was responsible for producing the catalogue of all the volumes contained in the Library. Demosthenes' speeches were incorporated into the body of classical Greek literature that was preserved, catalogued and studied by scholars of the Hellenistic period. From then until the fourth century CE copies of his orations multiplied at a time when Demosthenes was deemed the most important writer in the rhetorical world and every serious student of rhetoric needed access to his writings. Texts of his speeches were in a relatively good position to survive the tense period fron the sixth till the ninth century CE.H. Yunis, "Demosthenes: On the Crown", 28 Of Demosthenes' orations sixty-one finally survived. Modern editions of these speeches are based on four manuscripts: the tenth-century ''Venetus Marcianus 416'' (called F), the tenth- or eleventh-century ''Monacensis Augustanus 485'' (called A), the tenth- or eleventh-century ''Parisinus 2935'' (called Y) and the tenth- or eleventh-century ''Parisinus 2934'' (called S) considered to be the most reliable by many scholars.C.A. Gibson, ''Interpreting a Classic'', 1K.A. Kapparis, ''Apollodoros against Neaira'', 62 The authorship of at least nine of the sixty-one orations is disputed.F.Blass disputes the authorship of the following speeches: ''Fourth Philippic'', ''Funeral Oration'', ''Erotic Essay'', ''Against Stephanus 2'' and ''Against Evergus and Mnesibulus''.F. Blass, ''Die attische Beredsamkeit'', III, 1, 404-406 and 542-546 A. Schaefer recognizes as genuine only twenty-nine, disputing the authorship of the following orations among others: '' Reply to Philip'', ''Against Leochares'', ''Against Stephanus 1'' and ''Against Eubulides''.A. Schaefer, ''Demosthenes und seine Zeit'', III, 111, 178, 247 and 257 Friedrich Blass predicates that nine more speeches were recorded by the orator, but they are not extant.F. Blass, ''Die attische Beredsamkeit'', III, 2, 60 PROLOGUES Fifty-six Prologue s are extant. These were openings of Demosthenes' speeches, collected by Callimachus for the Library of Alexandria. He believed that Demosthenes composed them, as also did Julius Pollux and Stobaeus .I. Worthington, ''Oral Performance in the Athenian Assembly and the Demosthenic Prooemia'', 135 Modern scholars are divided: Some of them reject them,1 while other, such as Blass, believe they were genuine.F. Blass, ''Die Attische Beredsamkeit'', 3.1, 281-287 LETTERS Six letters are written under Demosthenes' name, but their authorship has been fiercely debated.F.J. Long, ''Ancient Rhetoric and Paul's Apology'', 102M. Trap, ''Greek and Latin Letters'', 12 J.A. Goldstein regards Demosthenes's letters as authentic apologetic letters that were addressed to the Athenian assembly and asserts that "whether the letters had a spurious origin as propaganda or as rhetorical fictions, the aim of the author would be to present a defense of Demosthenes' career, a simulated self-defense".J.A. Goldstein, ''The Letters of Demosthenes'', 93 REFERENCES |
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